Heaps Normal Teams Up With Aunty Donna’s Mark Bonanno to Create New Aussie Drinking Song

Heaps Normal has put a twist on the advertising staple of beer brands using music to promote Australia’s drinking culture.

The alcohol-free beer brand has called on Panda Candy and Mark Bonanno from Aunty Donna to create the track.

The crew behind Heaps Normal said they were looking to upend the “traditional blokey drinking song” by focussing on a more contemporary array of Aussie beer drinkers.

Western Australian-based sound studio Panda Candy composed the track, while Bonanno provided lyrics as well as performing the song and directing the accompanying music video.

Bonanno said the video recognises everyone’s all just trying to do their best in a world that tries to tell people how they should act.

“The cool thing about working on a creative idea for a brand like Heaps Normal is that there is basically endless scope to play with concepts of ‘normal’. In 2022, nothing feels better than acknowledging the things that make us different, even a little bit weird. I hope everyone who watches this sees a bit of themselves in the characters – toenail-clipping collector and all,” he said.

Panda Candy’s co-founder, Ian Berney, said given beer ads are one of the most iconic Australian ad genres, it was a no-brainer for them to get involved and try their hand at reinventing the beer jingle.

“Australia has a history of producing beer jingle bangers that become one with the cultural zeitgeist of the time. What excited us so much about Heaps Normal is that they’re a challenger to the norm of Aussie drinking culture – they take a bit of a punk attitude to the whole sobriety thing by not telling anyone what to do. We set about capturing that spirit by bringing lashings of Aussie punk rock to the sound that allowed Mark to do his thing with the lyrics,” he said.

Heaps Normal’s Peter Brennan, head of brand, said the video is a light-hearted look at the ways we create our own normal in day-to-day life.

“Our mission as a business is to evolve Australian drinking culture beyond the stereotypes we’re all so familiar with,” he said. “We’re not only providing a great alternative for people looking for a different way to drink, but we’re trying to start conversations about and put a spotlight on what drinking means in 2022. There’s so much more to this music video than just having a laugh.

“Just like there are no two normals that are the same for people, there are no two beer drinkers who look and act the same. We’ve had loads of fun dreaming up the various characters in this video with the help of our amazing mates at Aunty Donna and Panda Candy and the entire creative team.”

The launch of the music video comes less than two months after Heaps Normal launched its Heaps Normal Presents series – a music industry support program that includes monthly gigs taking place across Australia, a rider support program for artists who want to cut back on the booze, and a music ambassador program.

Credits

TALENT:
● Frankie McNair – The Artist
● Kirsty Webek – The Tradie
● Leroy MacQueen – The Home Aloner
● Ben Russell – The Amateur Athlete
● Sashi Perera – The New Parent
● Aurelia St Clair – The Bartender

SUPPORTING CAST:
● Alastair Duffield – The Foreman
● Jessica Galea – Customer
● William Bobbie Stewart – Friend
● Szilvia Kaszaniczky – Her dog!

CREW:
● Mark Bonanno – Writer/Director/Editor
● Jessica Galea – Producer
● Max Miller – Director of Photography
● Wye Keen Wong – 1st Camera Assistant
● Tanya Zerek – 2nd Camera Assistant
● Maddison Haywood – Production Designer
● Elena Lyons-Dawson – Art Director
● Costume Designer – Charlotte Lane
● Gaffer – Alastiar Duffield
● Noah Snell – Best Person
● William Bobbie Stewart – RunnerLOCATIONS
● Penny’s – Nikki Keating
● Gym Retor – Jesse Di Michele
● House – Szilvia Kaszaniczky